Years of experience and a focus on service have made Better Buildings, Inc. a go-to firm for steel building construction projects
Decades of experience and long ties to the Southwest Florida community have made Better Buildings, Inc. (BBINC) one of the most-trusted steel building contractors and erectors in the region.
The company originally began in the 1990s as a division of metal building manufacturing firm Dean Steel Buildings, Inc. After years of growth, Jeff Richards and Jeanette Dean Richards purchased 100% of the company from the other members of the Dean family at the end of 2019, creating a totally independent business providing steel building erection and commercial construction services.
The company specializes in supplying and erecting steel buildings, with a general contracting side that builds turnkey projects from the ground up and another division that acts more as a subcontractor to supply and erect steel buildings for projects run by other firms. “We are steel building specialists,” says Jeff. “We’re looked upon within the community and among our peers as experts in steel buildings.”
Both Jeff and Jeanie have their general contractor license (Jeanie recently got hers), and Jeff also has a roofing license. Additionally, Jeanie has a real estate broker’s license, which comes in handy for projects involving the purchase of land or an existing building.
The couple and the firm are involved with organizations like the Lee Building Industry Association (Lee BIA), Associated Builders and Contractors, and American Subcontractors Association, along with a number of community and charitable endeavors. Jeff sits on the board of the Lee BIA; Jeanie is a member of Lee County’s Horizon Council representing the Gulf Coast Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors and a member of the Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization.
You can find many examples of BBINC’s work throughout the Fort Myers area. It’s provided general contracting or supply and erect services for local companies and out-of-town clients like equipment rental and servicing firm Skyworks, marine construction firm Kelly Brothers, Amigos Fort Myers, Eagle Moving and A&E Truck Service, as well as numerous large supply and erect projects for Seagate Development Group.
BBINC does a lot of repeat work both as a subcontractor and with general contracting clients and is considered a negotiated/referral contractor. A prime example of repeat business is the relationship that developed after the company served as general contractor for dining and entertainment venue Backyard Social in Fort Myers. The owners were so pleased with the results that they’re working with BBINC again on the new Backyard Social location in Lakewood Ranch, which will be more than 50% larger than the Fort Myers site.
“We’ve worked with several different companies in the past, and they’re the easiest and best to work with,” says John Mann III, co-owner of Backyard Social with Mathew Baum. “They’re straightforward; they make the process easy and take a lot off your plate. There are a lot of unknowns in the construction industry, and they help answer a lot of it and simplify the process.”
The Lakewood Ranch site should start going vertical soon. Mann is also considering building a storage facility in Fort Myers, and if he does, he knows who his general contractor will be. “BBINC is the only group that we’re going to work with—and we’re pretty picky,” says Mann.
That kind of loyalty is a trademark for BBINC and something they work to build with their general contracting clients, the firms they work with as subcontractors and their own subcontractors. “I’m from here and Jeff has been here for more than 50 years,” says Jeanie. “People know that we’re not just a fly-by-night company. We have connections and we know who to get to. It’s a trust thing with us, because we are from here.”
Jay Allison, managing partner for Amigos Fort Myers and president of Aqua Air, has “nothing but good things to say” about his experience working with BBINC after the company built two buildings for Amigos Fort Myers. “Working with them has been a real pleasure,” he says. “They exceeded my expectations. Sometimes working with contractors can be challenging, but working with Jeff has always been great.
“The thing I really like about him is his concern that the project be successful,” Allison continues. “And they’re willing to do what needs to happen to make it successful. They try to tailor what they do to what the client needs, and Jeff is very involved in working with clients like me and making sure the project is something that works for them. That’s what really sets them apart.”
On the subcontractor side, BBINC recently developed a relationship with commercial construction firm Owen- Ames-Kimball (O-A-K) while working on a nine-building T-hangar project at Page Field. The company also built a hangar for an aircraft sales company out of South Dakota.
Seeing that hangar helped new client Gary Pearl, owner of Pearl Companies, decide to hire BBINC to build a hangar for his business and personal use at Page Field. “Jeff has been awesome to work with,” says Pearl. “He’s very responsive, and they really know what they’re doing, because they’ve got a lot of experience. It’s been a pleasure.”
The project is close to completion, and Pearl appreciates how BBINC has kept everything moving. “They’re excellent communicators, and they did a nice job in running the subs,” he says. “They did a nice job driving that process in the nicest way possible. I absolutely would work with them again.”
BBINC’s years of experience have helped the firm know what works, and what doesn’t. “We do not try to fix anything not broken,” says Jeff. “What we really promote is our team approach.
“I use the term ‘our team’ a lot,” he continues. “Our team consists of our office here and our in-house erection crews, and also the subs we’ve worked with for 10-plus years. We use the same subs 95% of the time on every project, and we’ve done that consistently for 10-plus years in a row. Our niche in the market is how we treat our clients and our subs and our employees, that family and team approach.”
B&I Contractors, which installs and services mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, has been working as a trade partner with BBINC for decades. “They’re very easy to work with, and we understand each other’s way of working,” says Karen Dugas, director of marketing for B&I Contractors. “And because we’ve had a long-standing relationship for many years, if there’s ever an issue—which there rarely is—we know we can pick up the phone and work through it.”
Both companies also share a similar corporate culture. “I believe that they are always very personable with their clients, both in the business and the public sector,” says Dugas. “They hold true to servicing clients and making sure they are doing the best they can possibly do for their clientele.”
Dugas says that B&I Contractors trusts BBINC’s abilities so much that the company is involved in B&I’s own headquarters expansion project in Fort Myers. Stevens Construction is the general contractor for the expansion, and BBINC is handling some of the steel building erection for the project.
“They have been doing metal building contracting for many years,” says Dugas. “And the fact that Jeanie just got her GC license? We’re proud of the fact that another woman in our midst is changing how Southwest Florida sees contractors in this area.”
“I know that women do participate a lot in the construction industry, but they don’t get recognition,” says Jeanie. “They’re the behind-the-scenes people, doing the quoting and the administrative work. But they’re now getting into project management; they’re in the field and on-site in general.
“In my opinion, women are more detailed,” she continues. “They’re reliable to the point of what they say they’re going to do, they do. I just don’t think they get recognized enough.”
In getting licensed as a general contractor, Jeanie will help move that conversation forward, just as the business itself keeps moving in a forward direction. BBINC’s sales almost tripled in 2023 and 2024, and sales also increased in 2025. “We’re a growing company,” says Jeff.
“We’re noticing some more out-ofstate clients reaching out to us more and more,” says Jeanie. “Times are changing a little bit, which is kind of exciting.”
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